The widow

With a thud of his feet in the stirrups, the warhorse transferred from the Qingzhou military camp neighed and knelt on all fours. Xu Qi'an flew into the dense forest like a large bird.

With a flash of the black and gold longsword, a head was severed, and blood gushed from the severed neck.

Don't look, don't look. Xu Qi'an's mind flashed back to the tragic deaths of the caravan, and his heart hardened. With swift strokes of his knife, he took the lives of the bandits one by one.

With his cultivation level of one foot in the Spirit Refining Realm, killing this group of bandits was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. In addition, his black and gold longsword was so sharp that it could cut through iron like mud. No one could withstand a single round from him.

"Hiss!"

A blazing blade of light slashed from behind, silently scattering the branches and leaves along its path, leaving a clean cut.

Xu Qi'an's powerful mental strength allowed him to sense the attack in advance. He twisted his waist, spun around, and his black and gold longsword shattered the blade's edge. He saw a man wielding a large steel sword.

He slashed away the Tiger Guard blocking his way with a single stroke, then charged towards Xu Qi'an with a sinister grin. At the same time, two lean men, wielding standard military knives, attacked Xu Qi'an from both sides.

Suddenly, Xu Qi'an found himself in a dangerous situation, surrounded by men on both sides and covered in burly men.

On the official road, Jiang Luzhong, who had been watching the battle with narrowed eyes, chuckled upon seeing this, "Those three bandits are quite skilled. One is at the Peak Qi Refining, and the other two have slightly weaker Qi, but they are not weaklings who have just entered the Qi Refining Realm."

Upon hearing this, a silver-clad man spoke up, "Should we help him?"

The Nightwatchers all looked at Jiang Luzhong, waiting for his order.

In their view, Xu Qi'an, whose cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Realm, could not possibly withstand the combined attack of three experts of the same level. Moreover, he was still very inexperienced, had not killed many people, and lacked practical combat experience.

On the battlefield, practical experience is sometimes more important than cultivation level.

Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng knew that Xu Qi'an was attempting to break through to the Spirit Refining Realm, but this was not a good thing, as he was currently exhausted, which affected his combat strength.

Jiang Luzhong quietly pointed his fingers like a sword, staring intently at Xu Qi'an, who was trapped in the encirclement, ready to intervene at any moment. "Wait a little longer."

Three Qi Refining Realm. The man wielding the steel blade possessed a powerful aura, indicating he was at the Peak Qi Refining. The other two were considerably weaker. Were the bandits of Yunzhou so well-educated? How could they so easily encounter three Qi Refining Realm?

Xu Qi'an gripped his knife, his expression calm. He took the initiative to meet the attacker, swinging his knife at the man wielding the steel blade. At the same time, he visualized a roaring golden lion in his mind.

"Roar!"

A deep, powerful roar erupted from his throat, shaking the mountains and forests and momentarily pausing the fighting between the two sides.

The man wielding the steel knife felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his ears, his pupils dilated briefly, and his thoughts froze.

That fraction of a second of stillness determined his life or death.

"Puff!"

In the sharp gleam of the black and gold longsword, the man wielding the steel blade was cleaved in two, his shattered organs mixed with blood flowing across the ground.

After killing one person, Xu Qi'an pressed his advantage and turned around without hesitation. He once again visualized the giant image in his mind, and in an instant, he seemed to transform into a war god who could fight against heaven and earth, his aura surging.

Ding. Pfft.

One of the lean men swung his knife to parry, but the blade snapped easily, and the black and gold longsword sliced open his chest.

Seeing the situation was not good, another lean man turned to flee, but was stopped by the dense barrage of arrows from the Tiger Guards. Xu Qi'an caught up, visualized the golden lion roaring again, shook the man's spirit, and killed him with a single slash.

The whole process took only a dozen or so breaths.

A gasp of amazement erupted from the Nightwatchers the battle.

"His aura is so powerful that it completely surpasses that of ordinary Peak Qi Refining. Even I would only dare to say that I am slightly stronger than him," a Silver Gong exclaimed in shock.

"The question we should be concerned about is, where did he get his Buddhist School meditation techniques? That's a lion's roar," a silver gong player added.

"There's another issue: he seems to be practicing two visualizations simultaneously, and he's already mastered both. This is enough to propel him towards the Spirit Refining Realm."

He'd only been Nightwatchers for two months.

As they spoke, the silver gong players fell silent, their expressions complex.

Tongluo reacted even more dramatically, staring dumbfounded at Xu Qi'an's figure, his mind replaying the image of him swiftly and decisively killing three Qi Refining Realm.

Even among those at the Qi Refining Realm, different people have different combat strengths. Those at the Qi Refining Realm in the Nightwatchers's Office are generally stronger than ordinary martial artists.

But it hasn't reached that extreme yet.

Xu Qi'an was able to kill three martial arts masters in a short time without suffering any injury himself, which means that none of the people present could last ten moves against him in a one-on-one fight. This already takes into account the role played by the Law Artifact, the gong.

We usually joke around and treat each other as equals, but now I realize you can actually take on ten of us?

Jiang Luzhong also knew that Xu Qi'an's ultimate skill was "Heaven and Earth One Blade Slash," which he had not used.

After clearing out the bandits, the Tiger Guards brought out a group of ordinary people, 25 in total, who were bound hand and foot, from the dense forest. After questioning them, they learned that they were merchants.

One of the women was particularly striking; she wasn't the slender, graceful type of a young girl, but rather as voluptuous and alluring as a ripe peach. Only a seasoned womanizer could appreciate the beauty of such a voluptuous woman.

"Thank you, sirs. Thank you, sirs."

The rescued merchant was extremely grateful and repeatedly knelt down to kowtow.

Governor Zhang reassured them with a gentle smile, revealed his identity, and promised to send them back to Baidi City, the center of Yunzhou.

"Bury these bodies, then pack up the goods and take them with you," Governor Zhang said.

Jiang Luzhong nodded and instructed the Tiger Guards to get to work.

"Wait a minute!"

Xu Qi'an returned from surveying the scene and ordered the Tiger Guards to cease operations.

Governor Zhang and Jiang Luzhong cast questioning glances at him. Xu Qi'an walked to their side, frowning, and said, "Something's not right."

"Hmm?" Jiang Luzhong looked around, concentrating his senses for a moment. "There are no ambushes nearby."

This was just a simple case of bandits robbing people on the road; similar incidents happen every day in Yunzhou.

"It wasn't an ambush," Xu Qi'an shook his head. "I inspected the scene and found that most of the dead were bodyguards, while the merchants and ordinary people were unharmed, their goods were intact, and the robbers didn't even tear off the waterproof tarpaulins or count their spoils."

"Don't you two find it strange that bandits would rob a passerby and then leave valuable goods scattered all over the ground, ignoring them completely?"

Governor Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps there simply isn't enough time to clean it up."

Xu Qi'an asked, "Then why would you have time to kidnap people? If I were a robber, I would definitely be after money; these truckloads of goods would be my target. I would kill those ordinary people along with them, why would I bother tying them up? Unless..."

Jiang Luzhong and Governor Zhang exchanged a glance. The former frowned and said, "Unless their target isn't the goods, but people?"

Xu Qi'an nodded, glancing at the group of survivors who were still shaken by their near-death experience. "We'll find out by asking."

He beckoned to a middle-aged merchant and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am a silk merchant from Baidi City. I am traveling to Qingzhou with two thousand bolts of silk. Because the journey is long and I am afraid of being attacked by bandits, I am going to Qingzhou with Master Zhao's caravan. That is, Zhao Long. This man is quite capable and has connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds. His caravan is usually very safe."

"I've cooperated with him many times, but who would have thought this would happen? Alas, the hunter who hunts geese all day long eventually gets his eyes pecked out by the geese. Zhao Long was a man of considerable stature, and a man of his word. What a pity."

Xu Qi'an immediately looked towards the caravan where the corpses lay; Master Zhao was inside.

They asked each of them one by one and found that they were all merchants, and they were all in groups. In the end, only the plump woman was left.

She looked to be in her early thirties, which, in Xu Qi'an's era, would actually be considered a young woman in her late thirties.

"And you?" Xu Qi'an scrutinized her. "Why did you, a frail woman, go to Qingzhou alone?"

Yang Yingying hesitated for a moment, then stood with her head bowed and said softly, "A few years ago, my husband went to Qingzhou to make a living. He recently sent a letter saying that his business in Qingzhou was thriving. He originally wanted to come back in person to take me to settle in Qingzhou, but he was too busy with his business to leave. So he asked me to go to Qingzhou with a trusted merchant caravan."

"The woman inquired for a long time and everyone said that Master Zhao's caravan was top-notch, both safe and trustworthy."

These words were well-reasoned and presented with seemingly no flaws at first glance.

Her expression was calm, but as an ordinary woman who witnessed such a bloody scene, shouldn't she have turned pale and started sobbing to everyone she met? Moreover, her eyes were fixed on the ground while she spoke, as if she were reciting lines—this is a sign of insecurity.

Xu Qi'an said, "I have a few questions for you."

Yang Yingying looked up at him, then lowered her head again, and said in a soft voice, "May I ask, sir?"

What is your husband's name?

Yang Yingying pondered.

Where do you live?

"."

What are your husband's physical characteristics?

"."

How tall is your husband?

"."

"Please repeat a few sentences from what your husband wrote in the letter. What does your husband do for a living?"

Yang Yingying stood there, bewildered and helpless. After a long silence, she finally recovered and said softly, "My husband is calling..."

"Alright, stop talking." Xu Qi'an ordered the Tiger Guards, "Search her."

"???" Yang Yingying looked at him blankly, completely bewildered. This adult's actions were beyond her expectations.

She took a step back in terror, crossed her arms over her chest, bit her lip, and wore an expression of utter shame and indignation.

"You've been thinking about it for too long," Xu Qi'an said with a smile, scrutinizing the beautiful woman. "If a wife needs to think for a long time before she can even recall her husband's name and features, how can anyone believe her?"

"A lie can't be made up and believed just by fabricating a few sentences. If you don't want to be searched, you'd better tell the truth. Why did those bandits stop you?"

After giving the woman the stick, seeing her face gradually turn pale, Xu Qi'an comforted her, "My master is the governor from the imperial court; no official in Yunzhou is more powerful than him. Just tell him what's wrong."

Yang Yingying looked at Governor Zhang, who nodded and said, "I am here on imperial orders to inspect Yunzhou. You are but a common woman; you are not worth my deception."

Yang Yingying lowered her head, weighed the matter carefully, and realized she had no choice. Suddenly, she gritted her teeth and knelt down:

"I, Yang Yingying, am going to Qingzhou to avoid disaster and to seek justice for my husband, from Governor Qingzhou, so that he may avenge him."

Governor Zhang did not speak immediately, but pondered for a moment, "Who is your husband? What matter do you need Lord Yang to uphold justice for?"

Yang Yingying cried, "My husband is Zhou Min."

Governor Zhang exclaimed in disbelief, "What?!"

Xu Qi'an and Jiang Luzhong suddenly turned their heads and stared at Yang Yingying.

Zhou Min, the night Nightwatchers who died in Yunzhou, was the one who exposed Yang Chuannan, the commander of Yunzhou, for colluding with mountain bandits, supplying military funds, seeking personal gain, and supporting bandits for his own benefit.

Not long after the secret letter was sent back to the capital, he died silently.